AT&T and Verizon Analog Sites to Close Next Week
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Reported today on Ars Technica, AT&T and Verizon will be shutting down their analog cell sites in the next week, with smaller providers like Alltel, U.S. Cellular, and several mom&pop operations to continue this trend throughout the year.
This is all part of the extreme stupidity that is taking over the country, as the idiots in Washington spout off about how digital is ALWAYS superior to analog in any electronics situation. Not only is this blatantly false, it means that places that are less suburban and more rural will soon be places of little to no television, or cellular phone, service.
While we all know the benefits of digital service for cell phones, we also know that there are many places that currently get ‘filled in’ with analog signals, allowing seamless service for those phones so equipped. (Where I live, there are three places I can think of immediately, that are well traveled, and will also have large holes in coverage unless the analog coverage is replaced by a digital tower. Asking the customer service representatives produces no answers - as usual, so it remains to be seen if the holes will be filled. By the way, this is Southern California I refer to, and in each of these places I have broken down over the past ten years once, with no one stopping to help, no CHP in sight for the entire time, and the only access to AAA being an analog connection on my Verizon tri-mode phone.)
Traveling outside of California, I know that many places that used to be analog only service have changed, but not all. (Right now I can’t remember if the I-15 between San Bernardino and Las Vegas was fully digital the last time I drove there - but with the weekly traffic that corridor gets, it most certainly is now.)
if the holes in coverage are too large come next week, you can bet people will be complaining about not being heard
Unless the transition is seamless, there will be a lot of Verizon customers yelling over a landline phone at Verizon, "Can you here ME now?". (In the Southwest and West, AT&T customers should not be affected much, as a vigorous campaign was undertaken in 2002 to move all customers to GSM. (Besides, AT&T customers in this area are used to bad service, they might not notice at all!)
strangely, when I looked for a logo or other reference to AT&T, all I could find were golf pictures - apparently sponsoring golf tournaments is the primary business of AT&T these days
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Tags: verizon, at&t, analog cell service, rural coverage, digital transmission
8 Comments
Joan G
February 22nd, 2008
at 1:56am
I live in Santa Monica and was told by Verizon that the reason my digital cell phone did not work in my apartment was because I needed a tri-mode phone. I picked one of the two limited function models they had to choose from in December of 2007. Now without the analog service I am stuck, for another 22 months, with a crappy phone that only works occasionally in my apartment. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
the oracle
February 22nd, 2008
at 9:14pm
Joan G, I can’t say positively, but I believe you’ve been lied to. Usually the analog coverage only remains in areas that are rural. I live between San Bernardino and Palm Springs, and around here there are at least 3 areas that were analog as little as a year ago. In the LA area, I don’t receall there being an analog signal in some time.
Actually, the word ‘lied’ may be just a tad harsh. It may also be that you were told that by someone who had no clue and was mouthing something he had heard from another compatriot at Verizon. Either way, I’d try to get the phone returned if you don’t like it.
If your phone is truly tri-mode, AND you need the analog mode for use in your apartment, you should see the the analog icon in the display - if yoou don’t see it, you did not need it.
Joan G
February 24th, 2008
at 7:01pm
Thanks for the info. If it wasn’t the analog service that was the issue, then how do we account for the fact that I was not receiving some calls with an all digital phone that I returned because they said I needed a tri-mode phone. I did not have the missed call problem with the tri-mode phone. If it wasn’t that I was using an analog signal in my apt, is there a difference in digital phones (signals? brand?) - that would account for one working and one not working here? Thanks!
the oracle
February 27th, 2008
at 12:26am
Joan G - there are always differences in phones. Motorolas tend, as a group to be the most sensitive, and LG phones are not consistent, some good, but many bad. The Audiovox phones sold by Verizon are usually quite good, they are actually OEM’ed by Toshiba.
Joan G
February 29th, 2008
at 12:18am
Thanks again! Hopefully I’ll be able to exchange my LG phone for an Audiovox.
Ben
April 1st, 2008
at 4:28pm
I think this is true. I live in San Bernardino county and would use my Tri-mode when hiking in the mountains. I have made calls from near Mt Baldy, the top of Mt San Jacinto, and even in the Sierras using analog. I was in the mountains 3/27/08 and tried to make a call where I had previously been able to. I got nothing. I was pretty frustrated. Now I know why.
the oracle
April 2nd, 2008
at 11:18am
Ben, I also live in San Bernardino County, and I know the transition has been less than seamless. There are a few holes in coverage that were previously filled with analog service. I think it was a bad decision for them, but I’m sure that the numbers they crunch show a different story.
Huey
May 16th, 2008
at 3:07pm
Friends. This is clearly seen as a breech in contract in the eyes of the law and justifies a class action suit. If Verizon is at all aware of the power of the people they would not make the same mistake a cable company in Houston made a few years ago when deciding to cancel the NASA channel (Houston is space city USA!!). Mail Verizon and let them know that you are considering this a breech in contract not to mention terrible customer relations by not advertising this change in service and that you no longer require there services. Another briliant decision by our industry business “leaders” Cheers>